The Special Criminal Court has set a date for the trial of Maze Prison escaper Brendan McFarlane on charges connected with the kidnapping of supermarket executive Don Tidey. Mr McFarlane (52), Jamaica Street, Belfast, was charged in January 1998 with falsely imprisoning Mr Tidey and having a firearm with intent to endanger life at Derrida Wood, Ballinanmore, Co Leitrim, in 1983. Mr Tidey was kidnapped by an IRA gang in 1983 and rescued after 23 days in captivity. A trainee garda, Gary Sheehan, and a member of the Defence Forces, Pte Patrick Kelly, were killed in a shoot-out with the gang when Mr Tidey was rescued.